Kung Fu Panda 4’s domestic box office opening weekend marks the second-highest debut for the entire franchise and overtakes Dune: Part Two at No. 1.
Kung Fu Panda 4Âhas earned the franchise its best opening weekend in more than a decade. The new movie, which comes eight years after the previous installment, features Jack Black returning to provide the voice of the title character Po. After the kung fu master sets out to train his replacement so he can become the leader of the Valley of Peace, he finds himself targeted by the wicked sorceress Chameleon (Viola Davis). Along with the corsac fox Zhen (Awkwafina), he sets off to defeat this new threat.
Per Deadline, the Kung Fu Panda 4 release is currently projected to close out its opening weekend with a 3-day total of $55 million at the domestic box office. This will be more than enough for it to claim the No. 1 spot for the weekend, knocking Dune: Part Two from its perch at the top. It also marks the second-highest opening weekend for the four-movie franchise since the release of the original in 2008.
How the Kung Fu Panda 4 Box Office Compares to the Rest of the Franchise
The sequel Kung FuPanda 4 doesn’t seem to have suffered at all from being released after the longest hiatus in the franchise’s history. Its $55 million total, which could clock in even higher once the final results are tallied on Monday, is just $5 million shy of the $60.2 million opening weekend of the original movie, which went on to earn more than $600 million worldwide, becoming a solid hit against its $130 million budget. Below, check out how the new movie compares to all three previous installments in the franchise:
| Title | Opening Weekend | Worldwide Total |
|---|---|---|
| Kung Fu PandaÂ(2008) | $60.2 million | $631.9 million |
| Kung Fu Panda 2Â(2011) | $47.6 million | $664.8 million |
| Kung Fu Panda 3Â(2016) | $41.3 million | $521.2 million |
| Kung Fu Panda 4Â(2024) | $55 million | TBD |
All four Kung Fu Panda movies ultimately performed well at the box office, but the new movie’s opening is still toward the top of the relatively narrow band of debut grosses. As the second movie proves, having a lower opening weekend than the original movie also doesn’t necessarily mean that the movie can’t outgross its predecessor. While Kung Fu Panda 3 had the lowest opening and the lowest box office overall, this tremendous opening weekend could be the first sign of a major turnaround.
If it follows the lead of previous installments, Kung Fu Panda 4Âcould easily earn a worldwide total of $633 million, earning back much more than its relatively slim reported $85 million budget. If it overperforms like the second movie, it could even find itself reaching dizzying heights somewhere around a total of $768 million, getting the franchise the closest it’s ever been to the $1 billion mark. It remains to be seen how it performs over the coming weeks, but a lack of major upcoming animated competition until The Garfield Movie arrives on May 24 could help it excel.
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